A United States federal court has rejected a request by Aaron Greenspan seeking permission to obtain additional evidence from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and DCI Group in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The development was made public by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on his X timeline, where he shared details of the October 30, 2026, ruling by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
In its ruling, the court held that Greenspan’s proposed discovery relating to alleged cyberattacks on his website was not sufficiently relevant to the underlying FOIA dispute.
The court’s decision effectively prevents the plaintiff from using the FOIA proceedings to pursue evidence on matters considered unrelated to the legal questions before it.
Reacting to the ruling, attorney Christopher W. Carmichael said the decision reinforced the need to keep the litigation focused on the issues properly before the court.
“The Court’s decision makes clear that this Freedom of Information Act proceeding cannot be used to pursue discovery unrelated to the legal questions before it,” Carmichael said.
He added that the denial of the discovery request against President Tinubu and DCI Group underscored the importance of maintaining the proper focus of the litigation.
The court also rejected a separate application by nonparty Karl Von Batten seeking permission to submit an amicus curiae, or friend-of-the-court, brief. It equally denied Greenspan’s related request for judicial notice.
Additionally, the court denied Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment.
Attorney Oluwole Afolabi described the decisions as important procedural developments, noting that they clarified the issues that could properly be considered in the case.
“The Court also denied the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and rejected a separate request to introduce an amicus brief,” Afolabi said.
He, however, noted that the substantive FOIA issues remain before the court.
The October 30 ruling addresses the discovery and other procedural applications in the case, while the underlying FOIA dispute involving the FBI and DEA remains pending.